LONDON, Sept 24 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Governments
could help stem the flow of Syrians fleeing to Europe by
providing more services to those sheltering in Lebanon and
Jordan or uprooted in Syria, a senior official from the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

ICRC's Middle East director Robert Mardini said most Syrians
would prefer to stay close to their family than pay smugglers to
take them to Europe, but living conditions at home had spurred
many to take the risk.

"We were shocked to see that people (in al-Moadamiyeh just
outside Damascus) didn't have electricity for two years. People
were eating grass, people were drinking water from the swamps,"
Mardini told reporters in London on Thursday.

Syria's conflict has killed an estimated 250,000 people and
driven more than 11 million from their homes, including four
million Syrians who are refugees mostly in neighbouring
countries.

With resources stretched to their limits, there is growing
tension between refugees and host communities, aid groups say.

The ICRC, which receives approximately 80 percent of its
funding from governments, faces a shortfall of 80 million Swiss
francs ($82 million) this year to respond to conflicts in Syria,
South Sudan, Nigeria, Iraq and Afghanistan among others.

After presenting a record appeal for 2015, the ICRC may be
forced to dig into emergency reserves, an unprecedented step,
but so far has not done so, the humanitarian organisation said.

Mardini attributed the lack of funds for Syria's civil war
to donor fatigue.

"Who would invest in a country where you have no political
solution in sight?", Mardini said. "Efforts should be placed at
the root causes of the problem. When this is solved, the refugee
problem will also be solved."

The ICRC has "substantially improved" access to government
run areas in Syria over the past month Mardini said, adding that
working in regions held by the Islamic State was "extremely
challenging".

The sheer number of armed groups operating in Syria - 20 in
eastern Aleppo alone - makes things even harder with aid workers
having to negotiate with multiple players just to make short
trips, he said.

The journey from Syria's capital Damascus to the northern
city of Aleppo, which used to take about four hours, now takes
two days and many tense discussions with multiple commanders,
Mardini said.

"We should not take acceptance for granted ... we are widely
perceived as a Western organisation," he added.